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Aquaculture in Australia is the country's fastest growing primary industry, accounting for 34% of the total gross value of production of
seafood. 10 species of fish are farmed in Australia, and production is dominated by
southern bluefin tuna
The southern bluefin tuna (''Thunnus maccoyii'') is a tuna of the family Scombridae found in open southern Hemisphere waters of all the world's oceans mainly between 30°S and 50°S, to nearly 60°S. At up to and weighing up to , it is among ...
,
Atlantic salmon and
barramundi
The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, Sout ...
.
Mud crabs
Mud crab may refer to any crab that lives in or near mud, such as:
*''Scylla serrata''
*''Scylla tranquebarica''
*''Scylla paramamosain''
*''Scylla olivacea''
*Members of the family Panopeidae, such as '' Panopeus herbstii''
*Members of the fam ...
have also been cultivated in Australia for many years, sometimes leading to
over-exploitation
Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...
. Traditionally, this aquaculture was limited to
pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...
s, but since the early 1970s, there has been significant research and commercial development of other forms of aquaculture, including
finfish,
crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...
s, and
molluscs
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...
.
Australia produces 240,000 tonnes of fish a year with aquaculture contributing a third to this. Over the decade to 2006–07 aquaculture production has almost doubled from 29,300 tonnes to 57,800 tonnes. The gross value of aquaculture production in Australia continued to rise in 2007–08 by $62.7 million to $868 million. In 2008 the Aquaculture industry directly employed more than 7000 people and indirectly contributed 20,000 and was the fastest growing primary industry in Australia.
History
There is evidence of aquaculture being practised in Australia thousands of years ago by some of the
Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...
peoples, notably the
Gunditjmara
The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of southwestern Victoria. They are the traditional owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. Th ...
's farming of
short-finned eel
The short-finned eel (''Anguilla australis''), also known as the shortfin eel, is one of the 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It is native to the lakes, dams and coastal rivers of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and much of t ...
s in the
Budj Bim heritage areas
Budj Bim heritage areas includes several protected areas in Victoria, Australia, the largest two being Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape and the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. Within the latter, there are three Indigenous Protected Areas: the ...
in western
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, and the
Brewarrina fish traps on the
Barwon River in
New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, which were created and used by a number of local peoples.
National Aquaculture Council
The National Aquaculture Council (NAC) is the peak industry body representing aquaculture in Australia. NAC provides the industry with a credible voice at the political level, and strives for greater influence of issues of national significance for Australia's aquaculture industry. Since its establishment in 2001, NAC has developed a reputation amongst key Australian Government Ministers and agencies with an interest in aquaculture, primarily the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The NAC is governed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for determining the strategic direction of the NAC's work program. In addition to these industry members, are other NAC members including a variety of aquaculture organisations and groups.
Code of Conduct
The National Aquaculture Council maintains a voluntary Australian Aquaculture Industry Code of Conduct, which was first published in 1998. The Code includes the following five guiding principles for best environmental practice:
# Comply with regulations
# Respect the rights and safety of others
# Protect the environment
# Treat aquatic animals humanely
# Promote the safety of seafood and other aquatic foods for human consumption
Australian aquaculture sectors
Marine finfish
The marine finfish industry is an inshore and offshore sea cage-farming sector, which primarily operates in South Australia and Tasmania with some farms in other States. The principal species grown are southern bluefin tuna, Atlantic salmon, yellowtail kingfish, mulloway and barramundi. Operations typically involve pre-dawn loading of vessels and delivering feed to the sea cages. Cleaning and maintenance duties are performed, with divers undertaking net repairs and cleaning in most farms. A second run is undertaken in the afternoon or early evening.
Southern bluefin tuna
The aquaculture component of the Australian tuna sector involves the culturing of
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...
in offshore sea pontoons. Before dawn, feed is loaded on modified fishing boats that travel to the sea pontoons, which can be up to 25 km out at sea. Feeding, maintenance and harvesting operations are performed, as well as monitoring the fish, and undertaking environmental activities that comply with the licence conditions. Weather conditions determine when fish can be fed and pontoon systems maintained. Generally the operation is seven days a week and is undertaken over a six-month season.
Southern bluefin tuna aquaculture was first initiated in Australia in 1990 through a collaborative research and development program involving the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association (ASBTIA), previously the Tuna Boat Owners Association of Australia (TBOASA), the Japanese Overseas Fishery Cooperation Foundation and the South Australian Government. Southern bluefin tuna is the most valuable sector of South Australia's aquaculture industry and is represented by the Australian Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association (ASBTIA).
Atlantic salmon
The Australian
Atlantic salmon industry is based in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. The aquaculture sector involves the collection of broodstock and production of fingerlings for grow out in sea cages, which are located in offshore and inshore waters. A specialist fleet of vessels performs feeding and harvesting operations at sea, with the most common working hours occurring between 4:00 am and 7:59 – 8:00 pm. The Tasmanian Salmonid Growers' Association Ltd is the peak body representing salmon growers throughout Tasmania.
Freshwater fish
There are many small to medium freshwater fish farms throughout Australia, growing a wide range of species including
Murray cod,
silver perch,
jade perch
''Scortum barcoo'' is a species of fish in the family Terapontidae, known by the common names Barcoo grunter and jade perch. It is endemic to Australia, where it can be found in certain major rivers, including the Barcoo River. It is reared in h ...
and eels. Systems vary from intensive tank rearing systems to automatic systems to pond and dam systems.
Crustaceans
Prawns
The Australian
prawn
Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten.
The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...
farming industry is largely based in the tropical zones of Queensland. Prawns are farmed in large-scale pond operations, which operate round the clock and every day of the year. Farms are located in four Australian states—New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
The farms generally have their own hatchery and the whole operation involves hatching, growing, harvesting and processing in an integrated continual process operation. Unlike most aquaculture species, prawns feed at night, which means that feeding must be performed during the evening or early morning hours. Operational hours extend from 2:30 am through to 11 pm.
The Australian Prawn Farmer's Association (APFA) was formed in 1993 to represent the interests and foster the development of the Australian prawn farming industry.
[The Australian Prawn Farmers Association, "About APFA," http://www.apfa.com.au 2001, retrieved 25 August 2009] The Australian prawn farming industry now produces over 4,000 tonnes of product annually with a farm gate value in excess of $70 million, providing more than 1000 direct jobs and 1800 indirect jobs.
While the Australian industry is one of the smaller volumetric producers in the world, it leads the world in productivity with an average yield of more than per hectare.
Yabbies, red claw and marron
There are many small land-based crustacean farms in Australia.
Yabbies are most common and are typically an incidental aquaculture operation to general land-based farming.
Red claw farms are also scattered throughout Australia but mostly in Queensland and New South Wales.
Marron farms operate mainly in Western Australia and South Australia and tend to be larger scale pond operations.
Shellfish
Abalone (land-based)
Land-based
abalone farms largely operate intensive grow out systems, which are most often based around raceway technologies. While a majority of farms have integrated hatchery and grow-out operations, some rely on purchasing spat from dedicated hatcheries. Broodstock is regularly collected from the wild through diving operations and forms the basis of the hatchery operations and genetic diversity. Most land-based abalone farms are 24-hour operations involving continuous monitoring of the water systems and the stock. Any interruption to the water supply and water temperature can be catastrophic with large-scale losses.
Abalone (sea-based)
Two types of marine abalone systems include sea cage technology and a special converted grow-out vessel. Broodstock is sourced from the wild and juvenile abalone grown in hatchery complexes. The stock is then transferred to special sea cages with unique grow-out plates and the stock is managed and harvested on a continuous basis by groups of commercial divers.
After trials in 2012,
a commercial "sea ranch" was set up in
Flinders Bay
Flinders Bay is a bay and locality that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River.
The locality and bay lies to the north east of Cape Leeuwin which is the most south-westerly mainland poin ...
, Western Australia to raise abalone. The ranch is based on an artificial reef made up of 5000 () separate concrete units called 'abitats' (abalone habitats). The 'abitats' can host 400 abalone each. The reef is seeded with young abalone from an onshore hatchery.
The abalone feed on seaweed that has grown naturally on the habitats, with the ecosystem enrichment of the bay also resulting in growing numbers of dhufish, pink snapper, wrasse, and Samson fish, among other species.
Brad Adams, from the company, has emphasised the similarity to wild abalone and the difference from shore based aquaculture. "We're not aquaculture, we're ranching, because once they're in the water they look after themselves."
Mussels
The
mussel industry is widespread throughout Australia with large-scale operations in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria. Marine rope systems are used to grow the mussels. As mussels are filter feeders, farms rely upon natural feed including algae, detritus and bacteria, rather than artificial diets or pellets. Harvesting involves the operation of specialised mussel –stripping machinery on purpose-built vessels. While farms operate throughout the year, there is a 'busy season' of mussel production from January to May.
Pacific oysters
The Pacific oyster industry mostly operates in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. The industry is a marine-based industry (apart from the hatchery complexes) with most farms accessed by commercial vessels which are used to maintain the grow-out sites and harvest the oysters.
Pearls
The Australian pearling industry is based on the ''Pinctada maxima'' pearl oyster species. Since the mid-1950s the industry has focused on the production of cultured pearls. The first stage of culturing pearls requires fishing for wildstock pearl oysters, which are then used to manufacture cultured pearls through an aquaculture process. Western Australia is the main pearl-producing state, with The Pearl Producers Association (PPA) acting as the state's peak representative body for the ''Pinctada maxima'' pearl oyster culture industry.
[McCallum, B., "Pearl Producers Association," March 2007, pg 1, retrieved 25 August 2009] The Northern Territory is the second-largest pearl-producing state.
Sydney rock oysters
This industry operates in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and farms a single oyster species (
''Saccostrea glomerata'') in a number of estuarine and ocean settings. Operations involve small vessels engaging in daily trips to the oyster beds for checking, sorting, grading and harvesting the oysters. The farms operate in daylight hours with relatively short trips to the farm sites each day. Once ashore, the operations grade and clean the oysters and prepare them for dispatch to markets on the East Coast.
See also
*
Budj Bim heritage areas
Budj Bim heritage areas includes several protected areas in Victoria, Australia, the largest two being Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape and the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. Within the latter, there are three Indigenous Protected Areas: the ...
*
Naeraberg
*
Seafood in Australia
Seafood in Australia comes from local and international commercial fisheries, aquaculture and recreational anglers. It is an economically important sector, and along with agriculture and forestry contributed $24,744 million to Australia's ...
References
Further reading
* The National Aquaculture Council and its constituent bodies, "Submission to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission for the Aquaculture Sector of the Seafood Industry: Retention of the Industry's Award Free Status Under the Award Modernisation Process," http://www.airc.gov.au/awardmod/databases/aqua/Submissions/nac_aqua.doc 24 July 2009, retrieved 25 August 2009.
*
External links
Australian Aquaculture PortalAquaculture Industry Action Agenda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquaculture in Australia
Agriculture in Australia
Water in Australia